Self-driving buses made by Volvo to hit the roads in Singapore

SINGAPORE (March 5): Volvo AB is ready to start trialing full-sized driverless buses in Singapore, helping the city state take a step forward in the race to deploy autonomous public transport.

The electric buses, with a capacity close to 80 passengers, will soon begin driving at the campus of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, before trials are extended to public roads, the Swedish company and its partners said Tuesday.

Singapore has said it aims to operate scheduled services using autonomous buses during the off-peak periods in three residential areas away from the city center by 2022. The country has built a mini town for the testing of driverless vehicles, complete with intersections, traffic lights, bus stops and pedestrian crossings.

Volvo’s first full-sized electric autonomous bus, unveiled in Singapore Tuesday, “represents a key milestone for the industry,” Hakan Agnevall, president of Volvo Buses, said in a statement. “The journey towards full autonomy is undoubtedly a complex one.”